


"we can share!"

by cryptidsoap



Series: i'd burn the city down to show you the light [1]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, jeongcheol and meanie are mentioned, mentions of other members as well, the summary sounds sad but the story is not i promise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-15
Updated: 2017-10-15
Packaged: 2019-01-17 15:27:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12368646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cryptidsoap/pseuds/cryptidsoap
Summary: bad days are bad and jihoon cries on the bus





	"we can share!"

**Author's Note:**

> hELLO this was surprisingly hard to write??? so i apologise if its a little icky at some points i struggled with writer's block
> 
> this was inspired by something that happened to me i was having a terrible day and forgot my earbuds at home so i really cried on the bus on my way to college (unfortunately thats where the similarities end i didnt meet any cool person but i DID see a friend i hadnt seen in a while)
> 
> also i forgot to mention it on the fic for some reason but jihoon wears glasses in this story so yeah.
> 
> enjoy!!

People like to say that shitty days happen so you can appreciate the small things in your everyday life that you only notice once everything starts to go downhill. Jihoon understands their point of view, but at that moment he was too busy cursing every living thing to be appreciating the little things in his everyday life.

For starters, he cursed his morning alarm for not ringing.

Then, his frying pan for being overheated and burning his breakfast.

(Before that, though, he cursed his roomate for being on tour with his band and not being able to make him breakfast.)

He cursed his roomate again for being on tour and therefore not being able to give him a ride to the mall, forcing Jihoon to take the bus.

He cursed his bass guitar for being so heavy, and himself for choosing such an impractical instrument. (Actually, _instruments_. He was also a pianist and drummer, meaning the bass was the less impractical of the impractical intruments he chose to learn.)

Right now, he was cursing the bus' narrow circulation space while he tried not to hit everyone and everything in the bus with his bass by accident.

Oh, one more thing to curse: his small body, for not being able to balance properly his bag, his amp and his bass.

He took a break from cursing when he found an empty seat, beside a boy around his age, with a lip ring and dyed blonde hair styled into an undercut.

He resumed his cursing when he rumaged through his bag searching for his earbuds — it was a relatively long ride until the mall — and didn't find them. The sight of his earbuds laid forgotten on his bedside table flashed through his mind and Jihoon broke.

All things that went wrong piled up and he started to cry.

Now, Jihoon wasn't the type of person to cry on public transportation, or anywhere for that matter. He wasn't the type to cry at all. But a person can only take so much before the emotions get the best of them.

"Uh, dude, are you okay? Do you need help with anything? I think I have some tissues..." He heard a voice addressing him, and looked up to see the stranger by his side staring at him with a concerned face.

"No, uh, sorry, I'm-I'm okay, yeah, I'm fine." Jihoon attempted to dry his tears with the heel of his hand.

"You don't look fine, but I won't pry. Are you sure you don't need tissues?"

"I'm sure. Thank you."

Five minutes passed and Jihoon was still crying.

"Okay, I'm not fine." he said, catching the blonde boy's attention again. "But it's not a big deal. It's stupid, really, I can't believe I'm crying over this."

"I'm sure it's not." the boy's tone was friendly and comforting. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but maybe I can help if you do."

Jihoon took a deep breath. "I'm just having a really bad day and just found out I left my earbuds at home. I guess everything just piled up and I can't stop crying. Like I said, it's dumb."

"It really isn't. Bad days happen, we can't control it, but we can try to fix the things that go wrong." he opened his bag, searching for something inside. "For example..." he pulled out a pair of earbuds. "We can share! I know it's not the same thing but at least you won't spend the whole ride musicless."

Jihoon stared at him dumbfoundedly. "For real?"

"Of course! You can plug it into your phone so we can listen to your music." the blonde smiled. "You look like you have good music taste."

Still a little speechless, Jihoon plugged the earbuds into his device and put on his roadtrip playlist. They weren't really on a roadtrip, but he thought it was close enough.

"Oh, I love this song!" the other boy beamed. "I knew I could trust your music taste. Lorde is a genius."

Jihoon scoffed to himself. "I can't believe this is actually happening."

"What?"

"A person offering to share earbuds after finding out I left mine at home. What are the odds?"

"I don't know, but a lot of people would do that, specially if the other person was... you know. Crying."

"A lot of people wouldn't do that. They would be weirded out and change seats."

"That's a pessimistic point of view."

"No, that's the realistic point of view."

The blonde shrugged. "I guess. But, believe it or not, I'm doing this. I'm sharing with you and I don't expect anything in return, except maybe keep in touch with you because you seem like a very cool person. But only if you want to, of course."

Oh. _That was unexpected_ , Jihoon thought. He wasn't exactly friend material, in his opinion. His only friends were his roomate and the rest of his roomate's band. And maybe the kid from the ice cream shop. Yet, this stranger wanted to befriend him.

"I'm not a very interesting person, honestly. But if you want to keep in touch, sure."

"Don't sell yourself short. You're like, the first bassist I know who isn't 6 feet tall and intimidating or an equally intimidating greasy emo. I'd call that an achievement." Jihoon smiled at that. The boy stuck out his hand. "My name's Kwon Soonyoung."

"I'm Lee Jihoon." they shook hands a little awkwardly. It was a formal gesture in comparison to their previous informal converstion.

"So, which stop is yours?"

"The one in front of the mall."

"Oh, what a coincidence! Mine too. I work there, I'm a barista at Jam Jam café."

"I'm a, uh, I perform at the mall sometimes. That's what I'm going to do. Hence the bass and stuff."

"So you're this Woozi person people are talking about?"

"People are... talking about me?"

"Yeah, I overheard some customers at work talking about a musician that was performing at the mall. I've never seen you there, but I've listened to one of your songs when I passed nearby. Your voice is gorgeous."

Jihoon blushed at the compliment, and lowered his head to hide his face, muttering a small "thank you" afterwards.

"Did I make you uncomfortable? If I did, sorry."

"N-No, it's okay, I just get a little... you know... Compliments, and stuff, I-I get a little embarassed. Nothing major, just my shy self being me."

Soonyoung smiled and fought the urge to say it was cute because he barely knew the guy, but it was really fucking adorable.

They kept talking, conversation flowing with ease, and the bus reached their stop faster than they expected. When they got up, Soonyoung offered to help Jihoon carry his stuff, and didn't give them back until they reached the small makeshift stage at the mall's dining area on the first floor.

"You didn't have to do this, really. I could carry everything."

"I know, but it was faster that way."

"Thanks, then. I can take it from here and I'm pretty sure you need to get to work."

"Shit, true. Well, take care, Jihoonie. When you're done, drop by the café and ask for me so we can talk more." Soonyoung ruffled the shorter's pink hair and left.

Jihoon watched his retreating figure while his brain short-circuited a little over the nickname the other boy had called him.

 _Jihoonie_.

His friends called him that quite often, but the warm and fuzzy sensation upon hearing it from Soonyoung was completely new territory.

He forced himself to stop thinking about it and start setting up his stuff — his bass wasn't going to tune itself.

-•-

Gig finished, Jihoon was quick to unplug all the wires and put the bass back in it's case. Stuffing all the remaining gear into his bag, he did his best to carry all the extra weight while he headed for the café Soonyoung worked at.

(He had to ask for directions. Twice.)

(It was a big mall.)

When he got there, Jihoon was hit by the smell of freshly brewed coffee and pastries. He spotted Soonyoung by the coffee machine, looking unfairly good in a peach-colored striped apron. He seemed busy, and Jihoon pondered whether to call his name or just wait to get acknowledged. Thankfully, he didn't have to ponder too much — the blonde boy saw him and waved, motioning for Jihoon to come closer.

"You really came!" he beamed.

"Of course I did, you asked me to."

"To be honest, I thought you thought I was a creep, so I really didn't expect you to drop by." there was a light blush coloring his cheeks and the tip of his ears. "But I'm glad you did! Find a table and take a look at the menu, I'll be joining you in a sec." he started untying his apron and turned to one of his coworkers. "Jeonghan, I'm taking my break now!"

Jihoon sat at a table near the shop's window and started looking at the menu. He didn't know how much money he had on him, if he had any, so his eyes darted to the least expensive dishes and drinks. Soonyoung joined him quickly, elbows on the tabletop and head resting on his hands.

"So? What's it going to be? I can go order for us after you pick something." he smiled.

"I need to see how much money I have first." Jihoon let go of the menu to grab his bag and try to find his wallet.

"You don't need to, I'm paying."

Jihoon spluttered. "N-No, I can pay for myself! I'm sure I have enough money, I got some tips from the gig earlier, its ok-"

"Hey." Soonyoung interrupted, touching Jihoon's wrist lightly. "You're the one having a bad day, you deserve to be treated. I invited you, it's only fair. Plus, I have employee discount."

Jihoon just shook his head, face red and eyes fixated on a small chocolate stain on the tabletop, unable to form a coherent train of thought because _this seems a lot like a date_. Except it wasn't, he reminded bitterly. Soonyoung was just a nice guy who, for some reason, wanted to be his friend. His friend. Nothing more. He took a deep breath to clear his mind.

"Okay. I want a... medium-sized latte and a cheese croissant." he said.

"Alright, I'll be right back!"

A few minutes later, Soonyoung came back with a plastic tray containing Jihoon's croissant and latte, a grilled sandwich, a milkshake and what seemed to be two slices of strawberry cake.

"Didn't know we were feeding an army." Jihoon commented sarcastically.

"Oh, we're not." Soonyoung gestured to the sandwich and the milkshake. "Those are mine."

"And the cake?"

"One slice for you, one for me. Dessert is important."

"Right." he took a sip of the coffee. "Tastes good."

"Meh. Mine's better." Soonyoung scrunched his nose. "But, since I'm here, off duty, Junhui's coffee will do." he paused. "He's one of my coworkers, by the way. Tall guy who looks like a model over there." he pointed to the general area behind the counter.

"Oh, speaking of. Did you call one of your coworkers 'Jeonghan' earlier?"

"Yeah, that's our assistant manager. Brown hair in a bob cut, blue apron."

"Funny. Because I'm pretty sure a friend of mine is dating a guy called Jeonghan. He's the guitarist in my roomate's band."

"Even funnier, because Jeonghan is, indeed, dating a guitarist."

"I'll ask my friend about it next time I talk to him."

"So, your roomate has a band?"

"Yeah, they're touring right now. That's why I took the bus today, my roomate usually drives me here, but he's busy, so."

"Touring must be so fun. I miss having a band."

"You're a musician too?"

"Yeah, I used to play the drums back in the day. But having a band didn't work out, so I just do it for fun now."

Okay, so Soonyoung was a musician. A drummer, to be more specific. _Now that I think about it, he does have the arms for it_. Jihoon blushed. The boy in front of him was cute, nice, friendly _and_ musically-inclined.

He was screwed.

"You look more like a guitarist." the shorter tried to keep the conversation going to distract himself from his — ew — lovey-dovey thoughts.

"And you look like a pianist."

"I am."

"Really? How many instruments do you play?"

"Professionally, three."

"Whoa, that's so cool. Bass, piano and...?"

"Uh, drums. And I play others, but just casually."

"What others?"

"Guitar. Both acoustic and electric. Violin, since I was a kid. And, uh, I bought an ukulele a few months ago so..."

"I can't believe I've befriended a musical genius." Soonyoung clutched his heart dramatically. "I feel powerless now."

Jihoon giggled. He didn't mean to, but the scene in front of him was just so silly and yet adorable he couldn't help himself.

"So, tell me." Soonyoung took a bite of the strawberry cake and pushed the plate with the other slice to Jihoon. "Why aren't you playing on your friends' band?"

"Well, it's not like they never asked me to, believe me, they did, it's just that..." he gesticulated with the fork in his hand. "I don't know. Band life isn't really for me. But I produce their songs, so I guess that makes me an honorary member, right?"

"I guess so."

They ate the cake in comfortable silence, both thinking about a new subject to talk about since they were enjoying each other's company and didn't want the conversation to end yet.

"Hey. Do you have any of your friends' band's songs on your phone?" Soonyoung asked. "Sorry if I seem obssessed; I'm just curious, I want to know what they sound like."

"Oh, no, it's okay. I have their latest EP, I think. Can I, uh, borrow your earbuds again?"

"Sure!"

After plugging in the earbuds, Jihoon opened his phone's music library and then an album called "Check-In". He clicked on the first song.

"Oh. _Oh_. This is awesome." Soonyoung said, lightly bobbing his head to the beat. "Did you produce this?"

"Yeah."

"Holy shit, that's amazing!"

Jihoon smiled at the compliment. "Thank you."

"Wow. Oh, wow, the vocalist. That's such a beautiful voice, oh my god."

"That's Seokmin. He's incredible, yeah."

"I'm totally getting this EP on my phone, they're really good. Like, beyond good. Make sure to tell them I love them already."

"They're never gonna shut up about this when I tell them." he paused. "Actually, why don't you tell them yourself? They're not too famous or required, so their tour doesn't last too long. They should be back shortly, I'll introduce you."

"Thanks, that would be cool. Uh, you have a little... something..." Soonyoung pointed to the corner of Jihoon's mouth. "There. I think it's cake frosting." he grabbed a napkin. "May I?"

The shorter just nodded and stayed still while the blonde reached over the table to wipe the other's mouth.

"Done. All cleaned up."

Blushing, Jihoon muttered a "thank you", returned the earbuds to its owner and put his phone back in his bag.

They kept talking about whatever came up for a while. Jihoon discovered that Soonyoung used to be a dance instructor, but the studio closed so he started working at the café until he found another place to trach at, but ended up infatuated with the little place. He was also planning to start a dance-related Youtube channel, because dancing was his true passion after all.

"So, let me get this straight, you learned to play the drums because you wanted to be in a band, but in the end what you really love to do is dance?"

"Yes...?"

"Then why did you want to be in a band in the first place?"

"I don't know, it seemed cool- No, it _is_ cool. I'd enjoy the band life. And I think I could, you know, do both. I would find a balance."

"I'm not saying you wouldn't, just, wow. That's a handful."

"I'm a handful, if you haven't noticed."

Soonyoung discovered that Jihoon's parents wanted him to be a doctor, but his dream was always to be a musician. He spent his first semester in college studying to be a surgeon before changing majors and breaking his parents' heart. They made up after a while, though.

"Can you imagine me as a surgeon? Wait, before that, can you imagine me as an _resident_ in a hospital? It's so surreal. My superior would ask me to grab the... I don't know, the people-knife and I would probably say 'I don't know what the fuck that is, doc'."

"I'm pretty sure there's nothing called _'people-knife'_ in the medical field."

"See? I would be fired and thousands of people would die."

The conversation would've lasted longer, but a voice interrupted them.

" _Kwon Soonyoung_! Your break time was over 15 minutes ago!" it was the assistant manager, Jeonghan, looking at their table with an irritated expression.

"Oops." Soonyoung smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Jihoon, I have to get back to work."

"It's fine. I, uh, I had a good time. Thanks for the food, and for keeping me company, it made my day better."

"Anytime, I liked spending time with you, too." a pause. "Can we, uh, exchange numbers? You know, to keep in touch."

"Of course. Here." Jihoon handed him his phone. When he got it back, he saw a new contact saved as "soonyoung" with the dancing lady emoji. He smiled. "I'll text you so you can know it's me."

"Cool."

"Soonyoung!" it was Jeonghan again. "Get back to work, I won't save your ass if the boss calls you out again!"

"Okay, I really gotta go. See you... well. Whenever you want. Text me."

"Wait!" Jihoon called, turning the blonde's attention to him. "Do you take the same bus to get back home?"

-•-

Soonyoung did, in fact, take the same bus as Jihoon to get back home, so the shorter waited for him to get off work so they could go home together.

The bus ride back was filled with shared music and mindless conversations. It felt natural. At one point, Jihoon decided to show Soonyoung at least a photo of his friends' band before they were properly introduced. He showed the taller his phone screen, where a picture of five people was displayed. He pointed to the tallest guy in the group.

"This is my roomate. His name is Mingyu, he's a bassist as well. Very tall, a walking hazard, trips on air and almost broke my bass once. I threatened him."

Soonyoung laughed, and Jihoon continued.

"That's Seungcheol, the guitarist, the one who's maybe dating your coworker. We've known each other for a while, great guy, dresses like a grandpa."

"Nobody's perfect."

"True. This one is Seokmin, the vocalist. He's... he's a very positive guy, beautiful voice, very nice to be around. This is Doyoon, the drummer. He's cool, served us all burnt pasta for dinner more than once, but other than that, good guy. And this one is their keyboardist, Wonwoo. He's dating Mingyu, don't ask me why."

"Aw, that's cute."

"I guess. They're a little gross. Too much PDA. I still don't understand why Wonwoo is a keyboardist. I mean, he could have been a pianist. He has the skills."

"You sound a little bitter. Aren't those, like, the same thing?"

Jihoon frowned. "Oh. Oh no. Sorry, I don't think we can be friends anymore. I cannot believe you just said that."

Soonyoung ruffled the shorter's hair. "Relax, I'm just pulling your leg. I know they're different, silly."

Jihoon crossed his arms and sunk on his seat, fake-sulking, only to break into a smile a few moments after.

When the bus started to get near his stop, Jihoon gathered his things and got ready to get off the vehicle.

"Mine's next." he announced. "Thank you for spending time with me today."

"Hey, wait, I'll come with you. My stop is the one after yours, I can walk. I'll help you carry your things."

"No! I can't ask you that, you've done so much already."

"You're not asking, I'm offering. Now, let me help you, hand me your amp, I'll carry it for you."

They spent the five minutes of walking between the bus stop and Jihoon's apartment building in silence. Soonyoung insisted to carry the other boy's equipment until they got to his door, and not only the building's hall.

"Thank you for that, really." Jihoon said when they got there. "You didn't have to."

"It's alright, I like spending time with you."

"Yeah, I like spending time with you too." he looked down, thinking about his next words. "Actually, uh, can we hang out sometime? No, wait, let me rephrase that." he took Soonyoung's hand. "A date. I want to take you on a date. Would that be alright?"

Soonyoung blinked, suprised at the shorter's sudden bold actions. Then, his face lit up with a smile and he pulled Jihoon into a hug.

"Yeah, I'd like that. I'd like that a lot."

And, if Jihoon stood on his tiptoes to kiss Soonyoung on the cheek after they said goodbye to each other, well, that's for them to know.

\-----

(bonus)

_ljh to human tree_

**ljh** : thank you

 **human tree** : for what lol

 **ljh** : being on tour

 **ljh** : the lack of a ride to the mall made me take the bus and meet a cute guy and long story short now i have a date

 **human tree** : ayy congrats

 **human tree** : ur welcome

**Author's Note:**

> ayyyy tbh this was a little self indulgent. i love punk-ish soonyoung. i love bassist jihoon since that pretty u picnic live when he did an air-slap and he was Feeling It it was adorable. bassist mingyu is just a concept i love for no particular reason
> 
> (its not relevant to the story but mingyu's band is a little indie-ish. like indie fall out boy. idk what that sounds like but thats what they are)
> 
> so yeah i hope you enjoyed this mess?? might write a sequel because i have a few more things to add to this AU so hmu if you'd like that!!
> 
> thank you for reading


End file.
